Establishing effective ways to boost the UAE’s level of food security was the objective of two recent visits to Europe by Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Food Security.
The twin trips saw the minister travel to Germany and Ireland - countries ranked among the highest in the global food security rankings - to discuss collaboration opportunities in the areas of research and development (R&D) and to find future partners from the countries’ private sectors who can enhance the UAE’s ability to produce food sustainably.
The first stop in Mariam Almheiri’s itinerary was Germany, ranked 11 out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index by The Economist Intelligence Unit. Day one of the visit, which took place June 4-5, was taken up in meetings with representatives from leading sustainable farming companies, while day two was dedicated to discussions with politicians and policy-makers from the Bundestag, the German federal parliament.
Included among the private sector representatives Almheiri met were Nicolas Leschke and Christan Echternacht, founders of ECF Farm Systems, a company that combines fish farming and vegetable cultivation (aquaponics) by using nutrient-rich water from its fish tanks as environmentally-friendly fertiliser for its greenhouses. Established in 2014, the facility produces 30,000 kg of fish and over 400,000 herb plants a year and serves one of the largest retail supermarket chains in Germany.